George Taylor (DC Comics)
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George Taylor is a fictional character appearing in
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
published by
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. He is the
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of the
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...
newspaper the '' Daily Star''. An early Superman
supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...
, he was created by
Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996)Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, in ...
and
Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...
as the unnamed editor who gave
Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...
his first job as a reporter in ''
Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics ...
'' #1 (June 1938). His name was later revealed in ''
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
'' #2 (1939).
Perry White Perry White is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the editor-in-chief of the Metropolis newspaper the ''Daily Planet''. The character maintains very high ethical and journalistic standards and i ...
replaced him as the Editor-in-Chief of the ''
Daily Planet The ''Daily Planet'' is a fictional newspaper appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. The newspaper was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). The ''Daily Planet'' build ...
'' in ''Superman'' #7 (October 1940). In the
New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new series ...
the character is once again running the ''Daily Star''.


Golden Age

Virtually nothing is known about the background of this version of the character, but his personality as a newspaper editor was well defined. He was irascible, yelling at his reporters when angry or excited, but he was also a model of courage, loyalty, and integrity. When the superintendent of a labor camp claimed that reports about him in the ''Daily Star'' were libelous, Taylor would not apologize, saying that the information they had obtained was authoritative, and he dared the superintendent to sue. He also defended the reporter's pledge not to reveal the source of information. Taylor at first refused to hire the inexperienced Clark Kent as a reporter but later changed his mind when Kent brought in the story of an attempted lynching. He shortly made it Kent's steady assignment to cover the reports about the existence of someone called Superman. However, when
Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...
, the ''Star''s "lonelyhearts" column writer, claimed the next day to have met Superman, Taylor didn't believe her, asking if she had actually seen pink elephants. This was indicative of the difference in Taylor's attitude toward Kent and Lane: he was very supportive of Clark, giving him a variety of assignments including South American war correspondent, but if Lois asked for an important story she was told by her editor that it was "no job for a girl!" To be fair, Kent received his share of abuse, as when Taylor called him a "brainless idiot" and fired him for flubbing an assignment. But the editor gave Clark his job back when he brought in the story, and he actually softened toward Lois over time. Taylor also admitted it when he was wrong, as he did when he accused Kent of betraying his confidential source for cowardly reasons. In the spring of 1940, the newspaper Taylor edited inexplicably changed its name to the ''
Daily Planet The ''Daily Planet'' is a fictional newspaper appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. The newspaper was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). The ''Daily Planet'' build ...
''. He retained his position until November of that year, after which time a new editor,
Perry White Perry White is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the editor-in-chief of the Metropolis newspaper the ''Daily Planet''. The character maintains very high ethical and journalistic standards and i ...
, was suddenly introduced.


Earth-Two

When DC Comics created the
multiverse The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The di ...
, the Superman of Earth-Two was assigned all the characteristics and baggage of the early
Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...
version of the character, and this included the ''Daily Star'' and George Taylor, who was still editor when Clark Kent and Lois Lane got married. Upon announcing his retirement in the early 1950s, Taylor chose his successor by way of a competition between Kent and senior reporter Perry White. By solving a famous missing-person case, White proved the superior reporter but ironically lost the editor's job to Kent because Taylor felt that the better reporter shouldn't be locked to a desk. Sometime after retiring, Taylor discovered a filmstrip depicting Kent changing to Superman, but he promised Clark that he would never reveal the Man of Steel's secret identity. However, corrupt reporter Rod Pilgrim overheard the conversation and subsequently murdered Taylor to acquire the filmstrip. Superman confronted Pilgrim, convinced him that the images were part of a gag film, and turned the killer over to police.


Earth-One

In ''Superman'' #366 (December 1981) George Taylor was shown to be the editor of the ''Daily Planet'' on
Earth-One Earth-One (also Earth-1) is a name given to two fictional universes (The Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis versions of the same universe) that have appeared in American comic book stories published by DC Comics. The first Earth-One was given its name in ...
before Perry White. Taylor, who had succeeded a man named Morton, chose White to replace him when he retired at age sixty-five, an event that coincided with Clark Kent's junior year at Metropolis University. George Taylor, Junior, became editor of the ''Daily Star'' in Star City and continuously tried to prove that Oliver Queen was the masked hero
Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...
. George Taylor III was a record-breaking pole vaulter.


Post-Crisis

After the ''
Crisis on Infinite Earths "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March ...
'' wiped out the multiverse and replaced it with one Earth, the Metropolis ''Daily Star'' with George Taylor as editor was a rival paper to the ''Daily Planet'', which was edited by Perry White. Taylor was still in his position as late as 2002. When Superman was cast into a Golden-Age reality during the "Dominus Effect" storyline of 1998, the original George Taylor briefly reappeared.


The New 52

In the 2011
New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new series ...
relaunch, George Taylor was reintroduced in ''Action Comics'' (vol. 2) #8 as the publisher of the ''Daily Star''.


In other media

*George Taylor appeared in season one of '' Adventures of Superman'' episode ''The Evil Three''. In this version, he was a hotel manager that was murdered by his nephew who was searching the hotel for his fortune. *In the third-season episode "Delete" of the TV series ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
'', Max Taylor (full name George Maxwell Taylor and portrayed by Jim Thorburn) was the young ''Daily Planet'' editor killed by his assistant who was brainwashed by Molly Griggs. * The character also made an appearance in the 2020 animated movie '' Superman: Red Son''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, George DC Comics male characters Characters created by Joe Shuster Characters created by Jerry Siegel